Wildfire by Nelson DeMille

I bought this book (and Michael Crichton's Next) at Costco a few months ago before several business trips, thinking they would be good airport reads. Something about the cover art turned me off and I just got around to reading it now.

This is a very typical DeMille John Corey book. In case you are not familiar with this series, the John Corey books feature a very sarcastic protagonist who retires as a New York City detective but works for the FBI. He is always getting himself into trouble and uses very unusual tactics to solve crimes. Incredibly, he has a beautiful and talented girlfriend / wife who plays his straight man (woman?)

This particular story was about an elite group of business people and government officials who hatch a plan post-9/11 to address the growing terrorist threat. Problem is, their plan is itself terrorism and Corey rightfully disapproves and figures it out just as it is being executed. He throws himself into trying to stop the events from taking motion.

I liked it. Completely what I wanted from this type of book.

Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh

I first read about this book where most people did, referenced in Freakonomics. Freakanomics talks about a young sociologist who did extensive research in the economics of gangs, seeking to understand who makes money in a gang and how the money flows. The particular question he was asking to attract attention was, "why do so many drug dealers live with their mothers?"

So when Venkatesh' book was published I was first in line (err...on the electronic library queue) to read it.

I was a little disappointed with the theme of his book at first, because I though it would be about the results of his research. Instead it was about the methods and experiences used in his research with few conclusions. It was more of a memoir of the spending several years with this particular gang.

That said, I did learn some of the material I was interested in about day-to-day economic life in a (Chicagoan) gang. I had no idea that most of the gang violence we read about in the papers is based on turf wars over drugs. I also appreciated learning about all the different below-board businesses run by gangs and how they make money. I would have enjoyed more insights like that and fewer soliloquies about Venkatesh's moral dilemmas.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

This book should be called "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WOW." This book was incredible -- narrated by a voice stronger than nearly any other character I've ever read.

The book is about a young man named Oscar who immigrates with his mother and sister from the Dominican Republic. The book alternates between each of their stories to paint a family history that spans the D.R. and New Jersey, going back several generations. Having read several books lately that take place in an unnamed South American country, it was impressive to read such a carefully researched and executed story taking place specifically in the D.R. and the Dominican-American community.

Though the story is often tragic, Diaz masterfully injected humor and sarcasm throughout the telling of the story. The writing is great - the voice of the narrator is strong and particular from the first page. This books makes me want to read Diaz' earlier book (Flood) as well as a couple strong-voiced books I've skipped in the past. Beloved comes to mind.